Signaling apparatus



` Sept. 21. 1926. l1,600,527

A. l. WOODRING SIGNALING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 27. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Wil I 'ttorny.

Sept.' 2l 1926.

A. l. wooDRlNG szeuApING APPARATUS Filed oc't. 27, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

NIT Eo STAT Es PATENT oFF-ics;

i ALBERTO I. WOODRINGQOI@` WATERLOO, IOWA, AssIGNoR To NATIONAL 'SAFETY DE- vICEs COMPANY, or WATERLOO, IOWA.

SIGNALING ABPARATUS. y

Appneanjon iea'octobera?, 1924. serial Natasha?.v

My invention :relates toi-mprovements in 4signaling apparat-us, andthe object of vmy improvement is ltouse and incorpo-rate with the mechanism ofl `a signaling device inde-v pendently manually actuable means for operating the .signaling device without otherwise actuating thejentrained complete, mechanism'therefor where the complete entrained 'This Object I have 'accomplished by the means and mechanisms which are herein-v after ,described and claimed, andwhich are .illustrated inf the accompanying drawings, it Y l being understood 'that' changes in `the precise embodiment 'of'A 4invention yherein disclosed mechanism aside Vfrom said imeans -is actuable only by included devicesfor producing predetermined .can :be-made ,within the scope-of what is claimed Without 'departingfromf the spirit ,of the invention.

'Tn the sai-d Adrawings,--in which Asimilar numerals denote Asimilar parts throughout the several views, Fig. l is a front :elevation of combination apparatus for actuating a signalingjjdevice. Fig; "2 vis Tan enlarged detail of'thelrelay `cylinder with its 'included mechanism, parts of bothbe-i-ng-in longitudinal ycentralsection-and parts Yin elevation or v tail view of a-modificat-ion of said cylinder andits included mechanism, also partly in vsection and in eleva'tionf,`and Fig. 4 is an end yelevation Ashowing the combined valve tripping"devices"for -theY other Amechanism iin-V 'l 'eluded in vsaid cylinder.

` 'The finx'fention zdfs'c'losed4 in -thisapp'lication ing applications for latentsv'Serial Numbers "721,900 and *raison-both `sled .5I-une 23,1924, -I 'therefore have ',notfincl'uded in "this appli- .cation specific 'detail disclosures and 'descriptions oft-he lelements* of the said previous in'- ventionsg-only `as much fas-appears to be Y'necessary in Ztheexplanation oflthe combi- Iwith my new'means for permitting also' fthe ,actuation of *the signal-ing device manually '.by *the #operator las 'desired Vwithout at .the

numbers and durations Ol same time ,actuating the signaling-device in the predetermined manner assetout in the disclosures heretofore.

'The numeral 1 4denotes a` whistlefofnthe vtype as used for audibley signals on locomotives, or elsewhere,as on .electrically-pro'- `pelled vehicles or even in .other applications as `on shop orfother buildings. Referring first tolFigs. l and 2, and Aalso to saidFig. .4, the whistle 1 is adapted.for-connection'ito a supply of any suitablefluid under pressure,

such as steam'when on a steam actuated 'loco- 'motive or vehicle, and in which :the Whistle has the usual valve to beopened by means '.of

a lever 2.' y l f The numeral 5 denotes a hollofwcy'linder having its opposite ends closed ybythe sere-vvcaps 57 and 31, bot-h having :apertured seats,

thel cap 57 Shaving .a bearing-'seat for a a h plunger-stein 4, andy the .cap '3l having afseat foran apertured stem '30, ,l

.Upon the stem 4 withignfandffitting the inrner wall of said cylinder is ,an limperi.OIate :plunger l7 ,and a flexible packing member 8, and a coiled-compression-spring "91 is mounted around said stem and engagedl betweenthe plungerzandthe'inner wall of saidoaph57, ztending to normally displace the plunger vto the'i'ight.'Y Y f yThis lplunger 7` is forced yto .the left inl `order to Open the ,whistlevalve byy means of a vvcOImecting-:rod 3 connected ,pivota/lly .between the stem4 and ithe lever 2, Joy-.com-

.fpressed air or other fluid yunder pressureladmitted to vthe interior ;hollow,17 of said cylinder by :wayof an admissionfport rv1-6, -which 4is placed in a hollow plug 18y having a threaded connection with ksaid cylinder, and

on which :plug the vscrew-,cap .3l is removably mounted.` This port opens into aclo'sed chamber 20 between xthe'istop-,Olosure-plug '119 fitted in the le'ft-.hand end offsaid plugV 18 and avalve-head 23 littngavalve-Seat24 in the plug 18, the latter :having I a communica'- tion with a ,chamber :28 between .the lplug-@and the ycap .331, ,a by-pass 27: leading/through the pluginto the hollow 17 of said 'Oy-lindenl member against the cap. Thezilletedfend ofy curved end of the valve member 25 which projects .centrally to the right trom the valve-head 24. The valve-seat 26 communicates by way ot al passager 29 with an eX- haust-port directed angularly therethrough and normally openinggwithout the cap` 31.

'A coiled compressioli-spring 22 is mounted around the stem 21 oi' the valve-head 23 and engaged between said valve-head and the inner wall of the plug 19. A pipe Veects .communication between the admission-port 16 anda pipe 14 leading to a reservoir 13 rcontaining' a fluid under pressure, which may be compressed air. il pipe 11 edects communication between a valve-controlled port 10 in the cylinder 5 to the right of the plugs 18-19 and a valve-chamber which con.

trols the communication between said reservoir. 13 and the motor oi' a bell-signal not the said previously tiled applications igor patshown, this latter being a subject of one of ents. V

The mechanism contained in the cylinder 1 5 may beactuated to operate the whistlesignaling device 1 in themanner and by the. means shown ni said previous application.

721,900. This means is so constructed and arranged as to actuate the whistle with a Y predetermined number et blasts ci predeterf mined durations and separated by intervalsl L yalso of predetermined durations.`

For the convenience of an engineer, and

" also to'save the considerable extra expense of a separate whistle-operating device by which the engineer may operate the whistle signal independently in producing oneor more blasts at will as may be necessary and f without at thesame time operating ythe first- .mentioned combination device for the saidC predetermined signals, 1 have combined with the iirst-menti'on'ed mechanism other mechanism by whichthewhistle may be independently operated with ease and certainty by the engineer. The first-mentioned mecha-V nism for operating the Vsignal by predetermined actuations having been fully disclosed 'in said previously tiled applications will not be speciiically described herein, but includes a circumferentially-dentated rock-disk 46, Yhaving a plurality or' detents 45 of the de- Isired number and circumferential breadths This disk 4G maybe posito bevrelayed by power derived from a fluid under pressure acting on a valve device in a lrelay-cylinder 47 as shown in said applicay tions, and whose supply is provided by way l communication 14 with the reservoir 13. The vnumeral 39 denotes a fixed bracket apof' a manually operable valve ina valve'-v chamber 49 having a communicating conduit 48 to the chamber 47 and having Vanother ertured to receive Va rock-shaft 37 Y (best shown in said Figf4), and the shaft 37 has a depending arm 38 iiXed thereon stopped inv one direction by a lug 40 on the bracket 39. An arm 41 has forked parts mounted on the lower part of the arm 38 on a pintle 42 and stopped in one` direction by means of lugs 43 on said arm 38. In the free endof the arm 41 where bifurcated is rotatably mounted a roller 44 which normally lies in the path of movement of the detents 45 of the disk 46,so that when the disk is rocked downwardly the detents successively push outwardly to the right the roller44` and the arm 38', but when. the disk is reactivelyreturned by a spring connection not shown, the roller 44 rides over the detents without .swinging the arm 38 to the right. Also iii:-

edly mounted on the rock-shaft 37 is an upwardly projecting arm 36 havinga head v35 provided with an interiorly-threaded aperture alined with the stem 30 and containing an adjustable bolt 33 whose head 32 is normallyin contact with the outer end of the said stem 30, secured by nuts 34. Tlierockshaft 37 is prolonged rearwardly and carries rigidly a hub 50 secured byV a` set-screw 51 or other means on which is an upwardly pro- V)ecting vcurved arm 52 with a terminal eye One end of a pull-cord 54 is secured in said eye 53 and its other depending end furn`nish'ed with a handle 55, the Vcord Vrunning suspensively over the conduit 11 which leads into the cylinder 5. l

l/Vhen the disk 46 rocks theV armr 38 by means of its spaced detents 45 they arm 36 also Vrocks to successively push inthestein 30 with the predetermined durations 0factuations and intervals, thus pushing the other stems 21-25 to the vleft and opening Vcommunication by way` ofthe passages 28 and27 between the admissionfportl and the chamber 17 to thrust the plunger 7 to the left and actuate the whistlesignal l1.

Vhen the detents are not thrustingl outwardly upon theroller 44, the stem 30is released froin 'pressure byfthekarm 36. and moves back to the right to expose tothe at-K. mosphere the exhaustpassage 29ft0 exhaust residual Huid under pressure infthe chamber 17, so that the spring l9 may'react" and return the plunger 7 to its first position;

Vihen the engineer desires to manually control the whistle 1 to thus secure one or morev independent blasts therefrom'as may be necessary, he pulls down the Ypull-'cord 54 which rocks to the left the curved arm 52 and also the rock-shaft 37, thereby rocking the arm 36 to thejleftto push in thestem 30, and ashereinbefore (described. actuatev the whistle through 4the.mediiim'offthe controlling elements in the cylinder-5. Wh-enrthe pull-cord 54 is released, the saidcontained parts arereturned in the above described manner. f Y

It will'be seen that my combination apparatus thus includes all the coacting and alternatively operable ,mechanisms which are required by an engineer inaetuating the Whistle under all contingencies. l

Vhen the installation is of the type necessary in actuating the Whistle blasts by direct fluid pressure Without a valve and plunger connections as shown in my said application Serial No. 721,901, and as shown herein in said Fig. 3, the plunger 7 and stem 4: of Fig. 2 are not used. The Whistle 1 has then a single conduit 56 which enters an apertured central seat in the left-handhead 57 of the cylinder 5 to communicate with its chamber 17 direct. The other elements shown in Fig. 2 in the right-hand part of the cylinder 5 are used Without change, except that the stem 30 has no aperture or passage therethrough. Then When the stem 30 is pushed in by either operating means above described, the stems 21-25 are shifted to pass air from the conduit 11 to the chamber 17 to thus actuate the Whistle 1 as desired either Way.

' Having described my invention, what 'I claim as new, and desirel to secure by Letters Patent, is c In combination, a signaling device,a fluid pressure chamber in communication with a sourcerof iiuid under pressure, a resilient'ly members respectively coact with said mecha-A nism and with said valvular device in actuating the latter, and an operating element con# nected to one of said members to move it to operate said valvular device to control said communication independently of they first-mentioned operating mechanism.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALBERTO LfWooDRINGr. 

